After more than two decades of economic stagnation, Japan may finally be back on the rise. Economic reports from the first quarter of the year indicate a 3.5 percent annual GDP growth rate. Assuming this trend holds, this will be Japan’s best rate of growth since 1991 (with the exception of 2010, though that was mostly just due to a balance of major losses in 2008 and 2009). Analysts are attributing this growth to inflationary policies from Japan’s new Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, who has tried to weaken the yen to increase the profits of Japan’s export industry.

Entertainment bonus storyKanye West performs on SNL, reveals name of new album

Rap star and “voice of this generation” Kanye West took the world by storm this weekend with a weird marketing campaign and a performance on Saturday Night Live. On Friday, West officially premiered the song “New Slaves,” the first to be revealed from his upcoming album, with visual projections at 66 locations across the world, including Northwestern’s own Ryan Field. He followed up that debut with a performance on SNL, where he performed both “New Slaves” and another song apparently titled “Black Skinheads.” Saturday also brought news of West’s new album, titled Yeezus, which is set to come out on June 18. Though strange, and perhaps ammunition for critics who accuse him of having a Messiah complex, the title is certainly fitting for an album that will allegedly include a song called “I Am A God.”

The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister, David Cameron, is facing a challenge to his authority from inside his own party, as fellow Conservative politicians push him toward renegotiating between the U.K. and the European Union. It started last week when members of the Conservative party tried to pass a motion formally regretting the omission of a reference to a referendum about the U.K.’s European Union membership in the Queen’s Speech (the rough U.K. equivalent to the State of the Union). In response, Cameron offered up a draft bill that would provide for just such a referendum, a move that critics (including a former Conservative leader) say was motivated by fear of his own party. Following the success of that draft bill on a Private Member’s Ballot (which allows members of Parliament to introduce their own bills), expect to see more debate in the weeks ahead about the ideal relationship between the U.K. and the European Union, as well as debate over Cameron’s ability to control his own party.